Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. ~ Mary Oliver

TBR List Declutter Week 24

Well, it’s Thanksgiving in the United States, but I’m not celebrating it as I usually do. I’m not going to tell you how I’m celebrating it because I’m writing this three weeks ago, and I’m not sure yet how I’m celebrating it. I’ll have to leave you in suspense until a future post. My eight-year-old would call that a cliffhanger.

Verdict: Keep. We have two translations of The Odyssey and a graphic novel version, so I might as well round out the collection with this edition. I think my son would love it, and it might help him get ready for this year’s National Mythology Exam (not that it’s an approved translation, but it could help reinforce some of the plot points).

Verdict: Keep. I like listening to Brooke Gladstone on the radio. I never set out to listen to On the Media, but I always recognize her voice and find myself sticking around to hear the program. This would be a cool addendum to that listening experience, I think. And it’s written in a comic format, which seems all the rage these days.

Verdict: Keep. I’ll give this one a try. Frequently books about depression either depress me or piss me off, so I’ll have to read this one sometime when I’m willing to risk feeling one, the other, or both of these.

Project List: none.

234
Title: If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit
Author: Ueland, Brenda
Date Added: 08/02/12

Verdict: Go. I have a lot of books about writing, some of which I’ve even read.

Project List: n/a

235
Title: Julian
Author: Vidal, Gore
Date Added: 08/02/12

Verdict: Keep. The first time I heard about Gore Vidal was on The Simpsons. Lisa says, “Friends? Ha! These are my only friends, grown up nerds like Gore Vidal, and even he’s kissed more boys than I ever will.” “Girls, Lisa, boys kiss girls,” says her mother. It made me want to read some Gore Vidal. Julian is critically acclaimed historical fiction about the Roman Empire, and it’s by an author whose books Lisa Simpson reads; I’m game.

Project List: none

236
Title: The Cay
Author: Taylor, Theodore
Date Added: 08/08/12

Verdict: Keep. Based on the description, my children are at about the right age for this one. Maybe I’ll read it aloud to them for old times’ sake. They’ll probably ignore me to read their own books, but I’ll still read it to them.

Verdict: Keep. I’ve tried reading this with my kids a couple of times, and we didn’t get into it. But after reading the reviews and realizing that it’s a dark, existentialist children’s book once you get into it, I think I’ll give it another good try. Maybe I’ll even try it again with my existentially angsty children.

Project List: none.

238
Title: The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie
Author: McClure, Wendy
Date Added: 08/14/12

Verdict: Go. This seemed interesting when I added it, not so interesting now.

Project List: n/a

239
Title: Doomsday Book
Author: Willis, Connie
Date Added: 08/24/12

Verdict: Keep, B-list. I’m of two minds about this one. A lot of my friends really liked it and the premise appeals to me, but it’s 600 pages long. That’s quite a commitment. But I can always DNF it if I don’t like it.

Verdict: Keep. Good science fiction is something I really appreciate, but I’m elitist and tend to shy away from genre fiction. As part of my effort to rub elbows with the hoi polloi, reading “one of the greatest science fiction novels” seems a good compromise.

Project List: none.

I have been perhaps too generous in keeping titles this week. Only two titles off the list for a total of 78 of 240 (10.4% of the original 750). I’ll have to be more ruthless next week.

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